A group of Senators from the Midwest are urging President Donald Trump to cease Renewable Fuel Standard waivers for refiners. The waivers, intended for small, struggling refiners, has been reportedly issued to some of the nation’s largest, essentially letting them ‘off the hook’ for their biofuel blending responsibility. The Senators, including Iowa’s Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, along with Deb Fischer of Nebraska, John Thune of South Dakota, and Roy Blunt of Missouri, say the “hardship” waivers issued by the Environmental Protection Agency are being used in an “unprecedented manner.”
The letter, which was issued the same day (Monday) Trump was considering proposed changes to the RFS at the White House, urges the President to call on the EPA to cease the waivers “until the agency’s administration of the RFS can proceed in a more transparent and impartial manner.” Grassley charged last week that the EPA is “chipping away” at the RFS by allowing the hardship waivers to refiners, harming corn demand for U.S. farmers.